Free internet?

A recent class discussion prompted me to consider the notion of 'free' internet service, which leads directly to the question: what services should be provided by our government?

The idea of 'free' is really a misnomer here, in my opinion; speaking literally, absolutely nothing is 'free.' If you have a fire in your house, you call 911, and a group of highly trained and well-paid professionals, with vehicles and equipment valued in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, comes rushing immediately to help. All of this is, for you in an immediate sense, free. Only not really. Actually, you are paying for that service in your property taxes, or the property taxes paid by your landlord from your rent. Of course you're not paying for it by yourself--it's a group effort.

Our government is based on the idea of a commonwealth, which means that we cumulatively use our common wealth to pay for certain products and services that we all then have access to when we need them. If someone breaks into my house, I don't have to cut a check for the cop who comes to investigate because his salary is provided by the commonwealth. We all cooperatively pay for fire-fighters, law enforcement, our court system, roads, schools, ect. So the question is, should internet service be included in this list?

I'm not entirely convinced one way or another, but I do think there are some interesting arguments to be made. For instance, one of the reasons for providing (and requiring) universal public education is as a social 'leveling' tool--to allow those who are not born with much wealth or advantage the opportunity to acquire more of these things.

These days, one might argue convincingly that lacking access to the internet could impose a financial disadvantage nearly as great as lacking access to a decent education. The modern marketplace is always online; how can you expect to find a good job if you don't know how to use a computer?

So I think the argument being made for 'free' (that is, sponsored by our tax dollars) internet is that it might provide more people with more equal access to the opportunities that abound in our nation. That strikes me as a good idea.

The only remaining question, then, is whether the benefits would outweigh the costs. How much this would cost, I do not know.

Strong convictions

My Einstein quotes are beginning to repeat themselves with disappointing regularity, so I added several other general quote gadgets to my google desktop thingy. And was it ever worth it! Some funny ones, some kind of silly ones, and then this: "Convictions are more dangerous foes of truth than lies." -Nietzsche strikes again! I have very, very strong feelings about what I've always called Belief. I honestly think it can be seen as the most harmful of all human capacities.

Okay, apathy. But what's the foundation of apathy? The deep-seated belief, the conviction, that those other people aren't like us, that for all intents and purposes they aren't really people.

How about vengeance then? Or anger, or hate? These are all based on an ego-centric belief in one's own essential and exclusive rightness--that is, confidence in one's convictions, which amounts to self-righteousness.

Why is it that three-quarters of Americans say they oppose the current health care bill, when most of us actually like the components and ideas that make it up? I think it's because of a loud minority with few real productive ideas, but with lots of very strong convictions.

It seems to me that if we all cared more about the pursuit of real truth and justice than about defending our own convictions, the world, as they say, would be a better place.

And I really believe I'm right about that!

Standards

The biggest news in American education in at least the last few years is the current push toward nationwide standards in English and math. It's not happening through federal legislation, but is rather a voluntary and cooperative effort led by the governors and education chiefs of many states. Forty-eight are already on board; Texas and Alaska are the only exceptions.

Everyone, absolutely everyone, should be interested in the content of these new standards because they will be in effect for nearly every child in the country within a couple of years. The current draft is here: http://www.corestandards.org/Standards/K12/